Keep the customers you want

Your A and B customers are the competition’s A and B prospects.  What are you doing to keep these customers who are the present and future of your agency? You may not even know who they are.  Here’s a way to find out.  

I’ll bet you and your staff can rattle off the names of your C and Y customers (Y  for “why do we need them”).  Yet Cs and Ys deserve every bit of attention and service they pay you for. Just remember: they are probably discriminating against you because they become a drain on agency resources. 

Do you have a fail-safe process in place right now to track your important customers at least once a year?  Try these steps. 

#1 Identify your A and B customers using your own criteria. 

#2  Choose a workable process with someone in the agency who will own the process (a “vice president of renewals,” if you will). 

#3  Jointly decide on the best way to communicate with your important clients:  light-hearted postcards, for example; or one-way phone calls; or an agency newsletter. 

#4  Recognize and reward the people who participate in helping KEEP the A’s and B’s. 

#5  Test your process for 90 days.  Improve it with ideas gleaned from your customers. 

Frank J. Herberg is a partner in the firm Herberg, Adams & Associates.  He has earned a national reputation as an innovative and thoughtful coach to independent insurance agents. His specializes in the areas of agency development and customer relations.  Contact him through this Web site or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Telephone: 508-272-9255.